LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. 

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Zei^ESEIsTTEiy E-s^ 



UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 



[Document 12; - l>m ^^^^ "^J" ,, 



CITY OF 




I BOSTON. 



PROCEEDINGS OF THE CITY COUNCIL, 

ON THE DEATH 01" 

JAMES A. GARFIELD, 

PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES. 

In Board of Aldermen, Oct. 3, 1881. 
Ordered, That the proceedings of the City Council of 
Boston, in commemoration of the death of James A. 
Garfield, late President of the United States, be i)rinted 
as a city document ; tlie expense attending the same to be 
charged to the appropriation for Printing. 

Passed in Common Council. Came up for concurrence. 
Read and concurred. Approved by the Mayor October 4, 
1881. 

Attest ; 

S. F. McCLEARY. 

Citij Chrk. 



City Hall, Boston, September 20, 1881. 
Both branches of the City Council met in their respective 
chamljers at 12 M., in accordance with the following call : — 

CITY OF B(3ST0N. 

E:jvF'Cutivk Department, Sept. 19, 1881. 
To the Honorable the City Council of Boston : — 

Having been informed of the death, which occurred this evening, of 
James A. Gakkield, the President of the United States, you are here- 
by requested to as.'emble in your respective chambers on Tueschiv, 
Sept. 20, at 12 o'clock M., for the purpose of taking such action touch- 



City Docoiext Xo. 127. 



EU7 



in'>- tin' Sdleinn event as would apiiropriately express the sympathy of 
u\u- citizens in this national sorrow, and their respeet for the memory 
of the deceased. 

FREDERICK O. PRINCE. 

Mayor. 



THE BOARD OF ALDERMEN. 

His Honor Mayor Pkixce occupied the chair, read the call, 
and said : — 

Gentlemen of the Bxivd of Aldermen: — 

It becomes my painful duty to give you official information 
oT the death of James Abuam GAiiFiELO, President of the 
United States. Shot down l)y a base assassin on the second 
day of Jtdylast, he lingered from that date until thirty-live 
minutes past ten o'clock last evening, when he died. Dur- 
ing a large pait of this time he suffered great pain, which he 
bore Avith manly and uncomplaining fortitude. 

This terrible event has cast a shadow over the whole coun- 
try. It has made a national sorrow. During all his long 
weeks of suft'ering the hopes and symptithies and prayers of 
the whole people liave been with him, and now that suspense 
and anxiety arc merged in grief and mourning they feel that 
the nation has lost a Chief Magistrate whose talents, experi- 
ence, and patriotism were assurances that the great trusts 
reposed in him would have been well and faithfully executed. 

Recently chosen from the people, by the jieople, to admin- 
ister the government in their 1)ehalf, all the citizens, regard- 
less of political ditferences or sectional divisions, were pre- 
pared to render him the loyal and generous support which he 
had the right to claim, and which our countrymen — ever 
subordinating party spirit to patriotic duty — are accustomed 
to accord. 

AVe have every reason to believe that he would have so 
administered the government that eve^y i)olitical and social 
right secured to the citizens and to the States by the Consti- 
tiition would have been conserved, /and that tTle progress ol 
the Republic during his official term would have been such 
as to demonstrate the ability of a free jjcojjle to select for 
their riders tho.se who are (lualitied for the grave and difficult 
duties of government. 

They who enjoyed the privilege of his intimacy reiuyscnt 
him as ])ossessing, in an eminent degree, all those (lualities of 
the head and heart which beget atl'ection and attach men to 
cath oilier ; so that not only the nation mourns for t lie loss 
of a wise, sagaciou.s, and })atriotic magistrate, but the 



Death of President Garfield. 3 

domestic circle and the larg'e circle of devoted friends <ii'ieve 
for the loss of one whose kindly nature and great capacity 
for affection enabled him to discharge well and fully all the 
offices of friendship and all the- obligations of natural rela- 
tions. 

The government of the country is never seriously dis- 
turl)ed l>y the death of any of its officials, however distin- 
guished he may be for public or private virtues, because it 
is based on law, snpported by free institutions, and protected 
by the loyalty of a patriotic people. However nnich, there- 
fore, we grieve for the loss of this excellent Piesident we 
are permitted to entertain, in our great bereavement, the con- 
soling reflection that no ap|)reliension can mingle with the 
regrets with which we lay his mortal remains in their last 
resting-place, that danger will come to the re})ublic, that the 
administration of government wnll l)e impeded, or that our 
free institutions will be in any w^ay imperilled through the 
death of a President. The assassin may murder an official, 
but law and government he cannot kill while })atriotism sur- 
vives, and the people recognize the obligations of moral and 
religious duties. 

The destiny of nations and individuals is in the hands of 
Him who notes even the fall of the sparrow\ AVe bow in 
submission to that Divine W'lU which orders all things well. 
We may not clearly see how a great and public evil can work 
for the good of a community ; but there are some lessons 
which all may learn from it. It should teach us humiliation, 
the purification of the heart, fhe resolve that in the future 
there shall be Inrger charity in our intercourse with each 
other, a fuller recognition of our moral duties, and a deeper 
interest in the religious education of the peo})le. Political 
institutions based on the affections of the people, and repre- 
senting patriotism, piety, and equal rights, will survive rulers 
and })arties, and can only perish when the public virtues 
which called them into existence shall decline and pass away. 
The Chair will receive any proposition which is a[)propriate 
to the occasion. 

Alderman O'Brien said : — 

Mr. jNIayor, — It is with the deepest sorrow and regret that 
I rise to offer resolutions in honor of the memory of the late 
President of the United States. A few weeks ago we all 
rejoiced, itecause it appeared to us at that time, that the hand 
of the assassin had failed to accomplish its purpose ; that our 
President would live to serve his country with that dis- 
tinguished ability and patriotism that had marked his course 
since his entrance on public life. An all-wise Providence has 
willed it otherwise. Elected but a few months ago the Chief 



4 City Document Xo. 127. 

^Magistrate of the nation, he had but just entered upon a career 
of usefuhiess to his country, when he was stricken down for 
no cause wliatever. 

Fifty millions of people now mourn their great loss. Fifty 
millions of people are shocked that a man could exist ainoiiir 
them, could grow up among them, who would he guilty ()f 
so great a crime. AVords almost fail to express our detesta- 
tion of the act 1)y Avhich so distinguished a citizen has lost his 
life, and the country a Chief Magistrate, who Avas honored 
and respected throughout the land. In common with our 
fellow-citizens in all sections of the country, we mourn our 
great loss and honor his memory. AVitli these l)rief remarks 
I now sulmiit the resolutions of the City Council : — 

Resolved, That the City Council of Boston, in common witli other 
communities in this attlictod land, has learned, with the profoundest 
sorrow, that the lono^ and painiul illness of James A. (iAWKiELU, Presi- 
dent of the United States, who was shot by an assassin on the 2d of July 
last, has now culminated in his death. 

liesnlred, That, by the untimely death of President Garfield, this 
country has sustained an irreparable loss; for in hiin were centred all 
those f^races which the hijjhest culture could produce, all that political 
wisdom which a varied experience in the council and the field could 
secure, all that knowledge of men and public affairs whicli extensive 
study and thought could suggest, which united to make him in reputa- 
tion and in fact the most illustrious citizen in the Union. 

Resolved, That President Gahfield exemplified, by his varied and 
interesting experience from boyhood to maturity, the American idea of 
a true and lofty citizenship, and in his wonderful career he exhibited the 
limitless capacity which waits at tlie inception of life upon every citizen, 
no matter how humble his birth, if he be only faithful to his duty and 
to (Jod. 

licsolvcd. That, besides his public virtues, we recognize also with 
grateful feeling his personal qualities, as exhibited by his ])atience in 
suffering, his fortitude in pain, his manly utterances, his sweet affections 
and his Christian faith, wiiich have been so conspicuously displayed, and 
which have attracted to his Ix-dside the attention of this nation and the 
warmest sympathy and prayers of all mankind ; thus illustrating in his 
death, as well as in his life, the strength and courage of a noble, 
virtuous, and Christian character. 

Jksolvcd, That the memljcrs of the City Council, individually and 
collectively, extend to the afflicted family of the late President their 
warmest and most sincere sympathies in this sorrowful hour; and tiiey 
desire especially to recognize that devoted affection, that saintlike 
tendtirness, and tliat hei-oic f(irtitU(U\ under circumstances of agonizing 
suffering, whicli the honored wife of the late President has exhibited in 
her nnp.iralleh'd trials. 

Ordrrrd. Tliat the .Mayor cause the City Mall and Taneuil Hall to bo 
appropriately (b-aped, tlie Hags to be displaved at half-mast U|)on the 
l)ublic iiuildiii'gs for a period of six days, and the bells of the city to be 
iolled during the iiour set apart for the funeral of the late Presitlent. 

.M.l.rinan IIki;m;v said: — 

.Mr, .Mavoi:, — 1 hardly know how to give voice to the 
feeling of .sadness that [»T\a<h"s cvciy heart consequent upon 



Death of PnESiDENT (lAitriELD. 5 

the sad intelligence that our beloved Chief Magistrate has 
ceased to live. During the weary weeks in which, Avithout 
a murmur, he has borne the suffering and pain of his 
protracted struggle for existence he has become more and 
more endearedto this people, and each day has intensified 
our desire that he might live. Over this broad land from 
fifty million homes are coming the sad notes of bereavement 
of a heart-broken, stricken people. Across the wide ocean, 
wherever a Christian people dwell, the sad intelligence 
has cast its gloom. Flashing along the wires that form a 
sj^mpathetic cord uniting the continents are speeding the 
words of sympathy from every land, showing that our grief 
and loss are shared by the common l)rotherhood of man. 
Words can but feebly express our sense of sorrow. That in 
a time of peace, with no exciting issue to influence the passions 
of men, the assassin's hand should deal the IjIoav of death, 
which was escaped upon many' a fleld of battle, and that our 
beloved President, in the strength of his manhood, when he 
had l)ut reached the summit of human am))ition, should be 
stricken down, seems sad indeed. But so it has been 
ordained, — the dread messenger of Death has knocked at the 
door of the Nation's Capital, and all that love and human 
skill could do were unavailing to stay his progress. A 
Christian warrior has fallen ; the sword that he drew in 
defence of human liberty and a nation's life lies forever 
sheathed in its scabbard ; and he has passed on to that realm 
"where the wicked cease from troubling and the weary are at 
rest," to receive that greater glory of those who fulfil well 
their mission here. 

The resolves and orders were adopted unanimousl}' by a 
rising vote. Sent d(nvn for concurrence. 

Alderman Viles moved that the regular meeting of this 
Board, on Monday next, be dis})e"Used with, as that is the day 
set apart for the funeral of our late President, and that when 
this Board adjourns it be to meet on Wednesday , the 28th inst. , 
and that all orders of notice l)e made returnable on that day. 

Adopted. 

Alderman Slade offered the following : — 

Ordered, That a eulogy upon the lite and public services of James A. 
Garfip:lI) be pronounced at an early day before the City Council and the 
citizens of Boston, and that a committee of three members of this Hoard, 
with such as the Common Council may join, be appointed to make suit- 
able arrangements therefor. 

Passed, and Aldermen Slade, Tuckek, and IIehsey were 
appointed on said conunittee. Sent down. 



n City Document No. 127. 

Alderman Curtis offered the following .- — 

Ordered, That a delegation from the City Government, consisting of 
liis Honor Mayor Prince, the Chairman, and one other member of the 
Board of Aldermen, the President and two other members of the 
Common Council, be appointed to attend the obsequies of the late 
President of the United States at Washington. 

Passed, and Alderman Curtis was appointed on said com- 
mittee. Sent down. 

Adjourned, on motion of Alderman O'Brien. 

IN COMMON COUNCIL. 

President Bailey read the call, and said : — 

James Abram Garfield, the 20th President of the United 
States, is dead. The tired heart is still, and the patient soul 
has gone to its home. Eleven weeks of memoral)le trial have 
been added to our country's history, — weeks of pain and 
anxiet}^ for every patriotic heart. \\'ho of us will ever forget 
the deep horror which prevailed on receipt of the first news 
of the terrible outrage, felt to Ije not o\\\y against the man, 
but against the nation itself? 

AVho will soon forget the gloomy anniversary of our birth 
as a nation, or the hunger for favorable news from the 
stricken President? Then the first gleam of hope, the alter- 
nating hopes and fears of these bitter days of national anxiety, 
the shutting out of all hope, and the stern recognition that 
death must come. Vividly as it now seems to us, it will 
stand out still more vividly in the future. Two strong 
characters have been blazoned on our nation's page, that will 
grow stronger and stronger the closer they are studied. 

The nol)le wife, rising from all but a fatal sickness, and 
with heroism and fortitude never surpassed, comforting, cheer- 
ing, and sustaining her stricken husband. Never despondent, 
never discouraged, she will stand forever as the American 
idea of noble, wifely devotion, and of heroic and womanly 
character. The resi)ectful homage of mankind is hers, and 
the sym[)athy of a nation's sorrowing })coi)le are with her. 

Our second martyr-President, elected to his high ofiice 
through respect of his talents and admiration of his noble 
manhood, the patient courage, the cheerful and almost boyish 
disposition in the endurance of long and terrible sullerings, 
entleared him to the hearts of the i)coi)le, and made him the 
Loved J*resident of the American p('()})K'. Our hearts are 
sad to-day, and the gloom of this tiMrlMc ctdamily will not 
soon i)ass from the nation's heart ; but these cxamplo of 
American manhood and womanhood will gild the gloom, and 



Death of President Garfield. 7 

add heroism and loveliness to American character. It rests 
Avitli us, gentlemen of the Common Council, to take such 
action as will testify to the nation the appreciation of our 
connnunity of this affliction, and our sympathy with the 
mourning family. 

The resolutions and order passed by the Board of Alder- 
men were presented by Mr. Parioiax, of \A'ard 9, and upon 
their being read by the President, Mr. Parkmax said : — 

Mr. President, — In moving the adoption of these resolu- 
tions I cannot but attempt to feel)ly express the feelings 
which I know animate the l)reasts of not only all in this 
chamber, but of every one throughout the length and l)readth 
of this land, where the news has come at the end of a long 
and lingering illness, which we have been so long expecting. 
For eighty days, hourly, we have examined each bulletin as 
it l)rought to us news of the condition of the President of 
the United States, and we have alternated Ijetween hope and 
despair. During those eighty days we may say that we have 
been fused into one nation. Though elected to the position 
which he held by one of the political parties of this country, 
the attack of the assassin has fused us into one, the distinc- 
tions of party have l^een lost, and no one has been known as 
a Repu])lican, a Democrat, a Labor Reformer, or Green- 
backer, in our common grief. James Abram Garfield, who 
was shot on the second of July, at his post of duty, exempli- 
fies to us, as has been appropriately said in these resolutions, 
the fact that any one of us, by force of character, may reach 
the highest post in the gift of our fellow-citizens. His career 
has been watched so long by his fellow-countrymen, and is so 
well-knowai to every one in this assembly, that I will not 
repeat it. We all feel that the attack of the assassin was 
upon each one of us, but at the same time we nuist remember 
what Mr. Garfield so eloquently expressed upon the death of 
the President at another time, that, though our chief has 
been stricken down, our nation still lives. Though we may 
mourn for him as one of the best and noblest types of Ameri- 
can manhood, yet we must endeavor to show respect for his 
memoiy b}- attempting to carry out what" we think he would 
have desired. And, Mr. President, as you yourself have so 
well said, while undoubtedly there are many Avomen in this 
broad land who, under the same circumstances, would have 
shown the same fortitude and spirit in their troubles, yet it 
has been given to this woman to show what our highest type 
of American womanhood is. She has stood the ordeal nobly, 
and we extend to her our most sincere sympathies. Mr. 
President, I move the adoption of these resolutions by a 
rising vote. 



8 City Document Xo. 127. 

Mr. Wiiit:\iore, of Ward 12, said: — 

Mr. President, — I rise to second the motion, in the name 
of those of us who did not aid in the election of President 
Garfield. And with that preface, the memory of that opposi- 
tion forever ceases. As President, he was our President ; 
the chosen head of the whole people ; the visible sign of a 
nation's sovereionty ; the object of the love and loyalty of 
every citizen. He has fallen a victim to the dangers of his 
post, — a martyr to his country, as truly as any of his associ- 
ates who fell on the field of battle. Most fortunately, not a 
suspicion can exist that the cowardly assassin had a con- 
federate or a sympathizer. The political framework of our 
government stands to-day intact and admirable ; our sym- 
pathy can be freely and justly bestowed upon Garfield as a 
man grievously atHicted, but for that very cause neaier and 
dearer to us now and always. 

This community, proud of its loyalt}^ is a unit also in its 
atfection for the fallen chieftain. From the moment of the 
first announcement of the dastardly act until the stroke of the 
midnight bell proclaimed the mournful end, a shadow has 
rested on ever}^ household. The spectre of Death has been 
with us, day and night, as though the first-born lay stricken 
in every home. Day by day we have watched the bulletins, 
to glean a deceptive comfort from hoi)eful words, or to sadly 
anticipate the day which has now come. Kings and nobles 
have faced the scafibld with a firmness which awakened the 
pride of their followers ; but for two long months our heroic 
President has fiiced Death with a courage and composure 
greater than theirs ; a richer memoiy to the citizens of this 
republic ; a higher example for them to imitate. 

I most heartily support the admirat)le resolution of condo- 
lence with his wife and family. It will lu'ver be forgotten 
that his wife was his truest friend, his unfailing su[)])orter. 
The few respectful glimpses we have of the sick-chainber re- 
veal her as that crowning glory of a man, a true wife. Well 
and fully has she struggled, only to remain to bear a weary 
burden for many years. Friends may forget, children may 
outgrow their passionate grief, but the heli)meet of the Presi- 
dent's life can Imt mourn and wait. 

In behalf of every household in this connnunity, in the 
name of every happy family in the land, we tender her our 
sympathy, our prayers for that consolation which the hope of 
a blessed immortality can alone afford. 

One last word: the miserable cause of this cMlaniity slill 
lives, to learn in due season the weight of a niition's curse. 

It behooves us all to see that he receives his just i)unish- 
ment, not in hasty wrath, but by the inllexible force of a just 



Death of Pijesidext Gakfield. 9 

vengeiUK'e. It has l)een said that "there is a divinity that 
doth iiedue in a king," Let us prove that the aH'eetion of a 
might}' nation forever enconii)asses its elected chief, and that 
the sword of justice, inevitable and relenth^ss, awaits Avho- 
ever strikes at the Nation's heart. 

The resolves and order were read a second time 
and })assed in concurrence with the other branch, by 
a luianiinous rising vote. 

An order came down for the ap[)ointraent of a 
committee to attend the funeral of the President 
at AVashington. Kead twice, undei- a suspension 
of the I'ule, on motion of Mr. Smith of Ward 21, 
and passed in concurrence. Messrs. Parkman of 
AVard 9, and Pray of AVard 5, were appointed on 
said committee. 

An oi'der came down for a eulogy to he pronounced 
upon the life and services of President Garfield 
at an early day, and appointing a committee to 
arrange therefor. Read twice, under a suspension 
of the rule, on motion of Mr. Fitzpatiuck of 
AVai'd 8, and passed in concurrence. Messrs. I*ratt 
of Wai-d 21, AYhitmore of Ward 12, Cummings of 
Ward 10, Bartlett of Ward 15, and McLaughles- 
of Ward 7, wei-e appointed on said committee. 

Adjourned, on motion of Mr. Browx of Ward 23. 



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